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            Short Line Safety Institute: Measuring Safety Culture Growth Across Four Railroads
      

      
  Document Series
              Research Results


      
  Author
          Federal Railroad Administration


      
Report Number
              RR 21-16

  Office
              RDI-24


      Subject
                    Safety Culture


      
  Keywords
              Safety culture, safety culture model, safety culture assessment, safety culture measurement, evaluation, short line railroads, regional railroads


      

      
      
              
                  
      
              
  Document
              SLSI Measuring Safety Culture Growth.pdf (458.68 KB)

      
              Research shows that a strong safety culture can influence a railroad’s safety outcomes, resulting in less frequent, less severe accidents. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Safety Council defines safety culture as “the shared values, actions, and behaviors that demonstrate a commitment to safety over competing goals and demands” (Morrow, S., & Coplen, M., 2017). Since 2014, the Federal Railroad Administration’s Office of Research, Development and Technology has supported the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association in its efforts to establish a Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI) focused on improving safety culture on short line and regional railroads. SLSI conducts voluntary, non-punitive, confidential Safety Culture Assessments (SCAs) for short line and regional railroads across the United States. SCAs provide a diagnostic appraisal of a railroad’s safety culture at a given point in time, with documented Opportunities for Improvement.

This research summarizes findings from a case study analysis conducted in 2021 of initial and follow-up SCA reports completed for four railroads.
      
            
      
      
              Last updated: Monday, September 13, 2021 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

**Federal Railroad Administration**

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